Kenneth Francis Ripple (born May 19, 1943) is a
Senior United States circuit judge of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (in case citations, 7th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts:
* Central District of Illinois
* Northern District of ...
.
Education and career
Ripple was born in
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. He received an
Artium Baccalaureus degree from
Fordham University in 1965. He received a
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
from
University of Virginia School of Law in 1968. He received a
Master of Laws
A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...
from
George Washington University Law School in 1972. He was in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
from 1968 to 1972. He was in the
United States Naval Reserve
The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Se ...
Judge Advocate General's Corps
The Judge Advocate General's Corps, also known as JAG or JAG Corps, is the military justice branch or specialty of the United States Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy. Officers serving in the JAG Corps are typically called jud ...
since 1972. He was an attorney for
IBM's Office of the General Counsel in 1968. He was a legal officer of the
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
from 1972 to 1973. He was a special assistant to
Chief Justice Warren Burger
Warren Earl Burger (September 17, 1907 – June 25, 1995) was an American attorney and jurist who served as the 15th chief justice of the United States from 1969 to 1986. Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Burger graduated from the St. Paul Colleg ...
of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1973 to 1977. He was in private practice of law in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
from 1977 to 1985. He has been a Professor of Law at the
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...
since 1977. He was a reporter of the Advisory Committee on Federal Appellate Rules from 1978 to 1985.
Federal judicial service
Ripple was nominated by President
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
on April 1, 1985, to the
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (in case citations, 7th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts:
* Central District of Illinois
* Northern District of ...
, to a new seat created by 98 Stat. 333. He was confirmed by the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
on May 3, 1985, and received commission on May 10, 1985. He assumed
senior status
Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...
on September 1, 2008.
Writings and other service
Ripple has written numerous books and articles on constitutional litigation, judicial decision-making and a wide variety of other legal topics. A member of the Virginia, New York, Indiana and District of Columbia
Bars, Ripple has the distinction of serving on the American delegation to the 1980 Anglo-American Judicial Exchange. He is also a member of the
American Law Institute
The American Law Institute (ALI) is a research and advocacy group of judges, lawyers, and legal scholars established in 1923 to promote the clarification and simplification of United States common law and its adaptation to changing social needs. ...
and has chaired the Advisory Committee on Federal Appellate Rules of Procedure. Ripple continues to hold a position as professor of law at the University of
Notre Dame Law School
Notre Dame Law School is the professional graduate law school of the University of Notre Dame. Established in 1869, it is the oldest continuously operating Catholic law school in the United States. ND Law is ranked 22nd among the nation's "Top 1 ...
, teaching Conflict of Laws, Federal Courts, and a Judicial Process Seminar.
Notable cases
On November 21, 2016, Judge Ripple, joined by District Judge
Barbara Brandriff Crabb
Barbara Brandriff Crabb (born March 17, 1939) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin.
Education and career
Born in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Crabb received a Bachelor of A ...
found that the high number of
wasted vote In electoral systems, a wasted vote is any vote which is not for an elected candidate or, more broadly, a vote that does not help to elect a candidate. The narrower meaning includes ''lost votes'', being only those votes which are for a losing candi ...
s created by the 2011
Wisconsin State Assembly
The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin.
Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...
redistricting was unconstitutional partisan
gerrymandering
In representative democracies, gerrymandering (, originally ) is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The m ...
, over dissent by District Judge
William C. Griesbach.
In October 2018, Ripple dissented when the majority, in an opinion by Chief Judge
Diane Wood
Diane Pamela Wood (born July 4, 1950) is an American attorney who serves as a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and a senior lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School.
After ...
, found that
Tony Evers
Anthony Steven Evers (born November 5, 1951) is an American educator and politician serving as the 46th governor of Wisconsin since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as Wisconsin's Superintendent of Public Instruction from 2009 ...
, then
Superintendent of Public Instruction of Wisconsin, did not violate the Constitution's
Free Exercise Clause
The Free Exercise Clause accompanies the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The ''Establishment Clause'' and the ''Free Exercise Clause'' together read:
Free exercise is the liberty of persons to re ...
nor its
Establishment Clause
In United States law, the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, together with that Amendment's Free Exercise Clause, form the constitutional right of freedom of religion. The relevant constitutional text ...
when he denied bussing to an independent catholic school because there was a nearby archdiocesan school.
See also
*
References
Sources
*
Biography at Notre Dame Law School
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ripple, Kenneth Francis
1943 births
20th-century American judges
Conflict of laws scholars
Fordham University alumni
George Washington University Law School alumni
Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States
Living people
United States court of appeals judges appointed by Ronald Reagan
University of Notre Dame faculty
Notre Dame Law School faculty
University of Virginia School of Law alumni